South Africa - The Brixton community, young and old, came together for the Brixton Light Festival parade hosted on 6 February 2022. Residents dressed up as Creatures of the Light, and the 232m-high Sentech Tower, commonly known as the Brixton Tower, was lit with Robe lighting fixtures and graced the Johannesburg skyline. Named after the London suburb, the Johannesburg-based Brixton dates to 1902 and is located near the suburbs of Auckland Park and Melville. The light festival is a celebration held free of charge by Brixton residents for local residents. The community-led parade winds through the streets and is highlighted by singers, dancers, bands, mimes, art and photographic displays. The African Reclaimers Organisation (ARO) whose trollies are usually used to collect recyclables, pulled floats made from recycled materials by Shade. Tamzyn Botha from Shade, members of the
USA - When Bon Iver’s album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, dropped 10 years ago, it was widely praised by music critics, debuting at the number two spot on the Billboard 200 US chart and earning the group Grammy Awards for both Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist. To celebrate the anniversary of this milestone release, frontman Justin Vernon and his band brought the album to life in its entirety, plus additional material, with a pair of immersive live shows dubbed Sincerely Grateful at the new YouTube Theatre at Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, using L-ISA technology. The two-day event marked the first concerts that the group had performed in more than a year and a half, and also represented the first official worldwide deployment of the new L-Acoustics L-ISA Processor II. Using this 3D audio processing engine, FOH engineer Xandy Whitesel mixed two shows that g
Russia - The final of the 2021 Russian National Open Championship of Creative Competencies – ArtMasters – was staged at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow to honour the best creative and technical talents working behind the scenes on shows and events - lighting designers, set designers, content creators, virtual worlds programmers, costume designers, make-up artists and many more. One of last year’s ArtMasters Champions, lighting designer ‘Roma Robot’, was invited to light this year’s gala ceremony, and he chose Astera Titan Tubes to be a major part of the production lighting design. Lighting challenges included facilitating super-quick changeovers. The Bolshoi’s stage was in use for classic theatrical performances the night before the event, so this had to be transformed into a show-space for all the different finale competition pieces, and then again for t
Denmark - From 18 to 24 October 2021, more than 82,000 guests visited Fårup Sommerland to experience a very special illumination event. Under the title Lysfald (Light Falling), the Danish amusement park presented an impressive outdoor lighting installation after sunset, for which the provider responsible – Profox – used more than 200 Cameo spotlights. Since the installation covered an area equivalent to approximately 55 football fields, Profox was only able to use spotlights that can be controlled from a central point via W-DMX. In total, the experienced service provider deployed 120 Zenit W300 and 24 Zenit W600 outdoor LED wash lights, 72 Drop B4 outdoor uplights, and eight Q-Spot 40I outdoor spotlights at Fårup Sommerland. While the Zenit W300 was used to illuminate the large rides and trees, the Zenit W600 provided an impressive option for the extensive illuminatio
USA - Buddy Guy has been an enduring icon of the Chicago blues for more than half a century, and the octogenarian guitar virtuoso continues a full touring schedule of around 140 shows a year. However, every January, he returns to Buddy Guy’s Legends, his personally owned and family-operated blues club where he holds court for 16 shows. This year, his annual homecoming benefited from a sonic upgrade with the recent installation of new Meyer Sound ULTRA-X Series loudspeakers for the house and MJF-210 stage monitors for the performers. “The new Meyer Sound system is a whole lot clearer than what we had before,” notes Greg Guy, Buddy Guy’s son and regular house engineer at the club as well as an accomplished guitarist in his own right. “It’s the same number of speakers as before, and even though the new ones are much smaller, they actually sound bigger. Buddy
South Africa - Rivers Church is one of the fastest-growing congregations in South Africa. Starting with a humble attendance of only 70 people in 1992, Ps Andre and Wilma Olivier have grown the church into a faith of thousands, with multiple campuses located in Sandton, Kyalami, Centurion, Durban North and Ballito. Self-described as a ‘dynamic church’, Rivers offers inspirational messages and community to all age groups, with their online streaming service further widening their reach, particularly amidst the pandemic. The church is dynamic in terms of adapting and integrating audio-visual technology to enrich their services, resource sharing between campuses and streaming online. “We started working with Stage Audio Works (SAW) in 2011 at the most basic level, but they are now our principal supplier and integrator for audio and video,” explains Andrew Illgner,
The Netherlands - Showtec light effects feature in a new season on NP01. The company Chain knows how to support television programmes in the field of lighting design and attract the attention of viewers. This enables the artists to move, surprise and entertain as much as possible in the programme Matthijs gaat door that is being broadcast every Saturday night on NPO1. Jeroen van Geffen (lighting design) and Benno van Merrienboer (lighting operator) know how to transform the studio and create a stylish stage experience using the Showtec light effects. Every week a famous artist takes the stage accompanied by the Sven Hammond Big Band at the most successful Dutch talk show of the moment on Saturday night. Both national and international artists get a stage here. Recently, performers include Stromae, André van Duin, Ruben Hein and Froukje. A production this
Germany - Pop singer Nico Laska recently presented his debut album, NI/CO, at a sold-out event at the Frankfurt club Nachtleben. Working alongside him was lighting designer and operator Patrick Rabus, a long-time friend of the musician. In order to give the small basement club an atmosphere worthy of the occasion, Rabus turned to GLP’s JDC Line and Fusion Exo Wash. "The Nachtleben is a typical basement club, with everything that basement clubs have to offer: low ceilings with nowhere to hang lamps, limited power availability, and very spartan house lights," says Rabus. "And then I come in with my own lighting set when the house technicians haven't worked in the club for months due to the pandemic. That was exciting for everyone involved.” Rabus searched for a place on the club stage to place six GLP JDC Line and eight Fusion Exo Wash. Since there was nowhere
Japan - With its curving abstract form, the Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre presents a fitting architectural testimony to the poetic beauty of the Japanese theatrical tradition. The 18 year-old structure in Nagano, is characterised by a speckled pattern of 20,000 pieces of glass adorning the façade. Inside the venue’s 1,800-capacity main theatre, the continuation of the flowing contours and curves provides a platform for the venue's programme of traditional and contemporary theatrical performances. As part of a recent lighting upgrade by Hibino Lighting, a total of 17 Chauvet Professional Maverick Silens 2 Profile fixtures were added to the theatre's lighting rig to provide multi-faceted looks in support of the myriad of stage performances which the venue is renowned for. Whilst some traditional disciplines rely on sound and light to transport metaphor and feeling
Japan - Try Audio provided an Outline’s GTO system at one of Japan’s largest facilities for large-scale expos and concerts. The city of Chiba, which stands on Tokyo Bay, recently hosted the first two days of uP!!! Special Live Holic Extra 2022 in its Makuhari Messe complex. The event featured 16 Japanese rock bands, including Androp, Straightener, Blue Encount and Orange Range. The audio contractor was Try Audio Japan, who fielded an Outline sound system for the high-profile live event. The two main hangs comprised 12 Outline GTO plus three Mantas (on down-fill duty) per side, while side-hangs consisted in 16 Outline Butterfly per side. Bottom-end punch was ensured by a centre subwoofer system of 20 Outline DBS 18-2 dual 18-inch enclosures and lip-fills were four LIPF-082. The powerhouse featured a combination of Outline’s T-Eleven and T-Seven power amplif
UK - St Paul’s House is a prominent city centre building located in the heart of Winchester held by Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP), an independent, owner managed pensions, investment and insurance consultancy. In keeping with the building’s recent refurbishment, a modern AV system was required with the brief of ‘audio over visual’. This was desired by LCP to allow the teams to conduct Microsoft Teams meetings, as well as the offices boasting the flexibility for other uses such as conferences, presentations and collaborative meetings, with the option of using the space as a singular large room or divided in two. Working with the team at Shure, Microsoft AV specialists Symity and Stoke-based integrators Connect Anything, Microflex Advance MXA910 Ceiling Array Microphone were deployed throughout the divisible space, along with Intellimix P300 processors and MX
India - Ground Control used 26 Showtec Sunstrip Active MKII blinders for Red Bull Dance your Style. Red Bull Dance your Style is a global digital event where you get to see the best dancers around the globe showcase their skills in one-on-one battles to unpredictable tunes. Last year no fewer than 80 events took place, including one in India where 26 Showtec Sunstrip Active MKII blinders were used. The event was live on Insider and reached dance lovers from all over the world. The dancers’ skills were exposed to the world in style thanks to the professional lighting and visual production around the dance floor. The production was managed by Nodwin Gaming. Naveen Deshpande from Ground Control arranged the lighting design with support from lighting inventory supplier Star Dimensions India. He has previously successfully used Showtec Sunstrip Active MKII
USA - The Christ Fellowship Churches in South Florida are enjoying new visions during services at five locations this year, following a major investment in Hippotizer media servers to playback pre-made content and drive LED pixel strips with swathes of colour. Three of Christ Fellowship’s largest locations, in Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie are now enjoying the user-friendly, visual impact of Hippotizer Taiga, Karst and Boreal Media Servers respectively. They were specified by the church’s technical director, Neil Zimmerman. “We were previously using a tired, software-based visuals solution but found that the graphics cards within our computers had major limitations and required constant updates,” says Zimmerman. “I was aware of the power and intuitive interface that Hippotizer offers, and as the church grew, I knew this was the best option.
UK - Having recently celebrated 50 years of theatre-making in Sheffield, the Crucible is part of Sheffield Theatres, alongside the Lyceum and Studio. Thousands of actors have performed at the venue which also hosts the annual World Snooker Championships. Built in 1971 and refurbished between 2007 and late 2009, the Crucible is a Grade II listed building. Its 980 seats are located on three sides of its versatile thrust stage, with no audience member further than 22m away from the performance. Having been awarded capital grant funding from Arts Council England, the theatre’s management team were able to upgrade its audio system, with the aim of helping its creative team to push artistic boundaries as far as possible. Sheffield Theatres specified a d&b audiotechnik system on the basis of their previous experience with the brand at The Lyceum Theatre and elected to e
UAE - Lighting designer Bruno Poet recently turned to Elation Professional’s Proteus line of IP65 luminaires to light the UAE’s 50th National Day Celebration, a technically demanding show that chronicled the country’s history and hopes for the future. The ambitious Golden Jubilee spectacular took place in the remote and harsh terrain of the Hajar Mountains and was both technically bold and emotionally touching. Artistic director and designer was Es Devlin who worked with LarMac Projects, the Official UAE 50th Celebration producer. LarMac enlisted a team of 650 personnel to bring Devlin’s vivid designs to life. “Lighting National Day 50 was a thrilling challenge,” Poet commented. “Es Devlin’s show design was a sculptural form in an unbelievably beautiful setting on the Hatta reservoir surrounded by mountains. The lighting had to bring this sculpture to
China - Audio-Technica is supporting the host broadcaster of China’s most significant live sporting event this winter with ‘an exceptional number’ of microphones, headphones and associated accessories. For some 26 years, Audio-Technica has been providing audio acquisition solutions to the biennial global broadcasts that cover multiple sporting disciplines across many different and varied venues, played out over two weeks of intense physical action. Camera positions are often set up with Audio-Technica’s shotgun microphones, at Beijing there are over 700, with the majority being BP4027 and BP4029 stereo models in order to deliver an enhanced soundscape. Microphone innovation can be found in multiple locations that call for competition on ice, such as speed skating, ice hockey and figure skating, where approximately 60 pieces of AT880b contact microphone ar
Italy - Loft01 in Prato is a former warehouse, newly converted into a lounge, restaurant and cocktail club in the heart of the Italian city of Prato. With a capacity of 90 (seated), it can be hired out for any type of event, from birthdays, weddings, art exhibitions and dance parties, customised to suit. In addition, clients benefit from a full technical infrastructure, including a Martin Audio Wavefront Precision Mini (WPM) PA, installed by dealers CLS Service. This is used for special events like the opening night party, where more SPL was required. Well known DJ / producer Nicola Zucchi was at full tilt playing through WPM - stacked, four elements per side - above a pair of SX218 subs, run in two-box resolution from Martin Audio’s iKON amplifiers. In addition, an LE100 wedge monitor provided his reference sound. In permanent installation at the venue is a Martin A
UK - Shure has announced that The Thursford Christmas Spectacular upgraded to the Axient Digital Wireless system for its run of 2021 shows. The Thursford Christmas Spectacular is a fast-moving celebration of the festive season, featuring a mix of both seasonal and year-round favourites. With a cast of over 130 members, consisting of a 30-piece orchestra, a 60-piece choir, 24 dancers, a comedian and speciality acts from all over the world, all performing to 1400 audience members on a stage that’s 140ft wide, it is one of the biggest shows of its kind in Europe. Musically, the show consists of a variety of performances ranging from classical choral arrangements to Christmas rock ‘n’ roll! The show uses 26 head microphones and 10 handheld transmitters for its singers, which enables the choreography team to position performers anywhere on the stage or within the au
Europe - A number of rental companies across Europe are streamlining their hire fleets for the coming touring and outdoor seasons by acquiring Optocore’s Festival Boxes. These are available in Grand (12 SFP) and Petit (6 SFP) fibre transport platforms in order to convert and send multiple signal formats down a single fibre. One leading international hire company, Major Tom, first saw the device at the ISE Show in Amsterdam, and after being given a system to demo they knew right away that this would become an essential tool in their inventory. “Why run six cables when you only need to run two,” reasons Major Tom project manager, Andy Banks. “It makes total sense even on non-festival shows; we can run PA returns on AVB, and then multiple consoles for headline and opening acts on just a single snake with a pair of fibres, rather than multiple runs.” Banks confir
USA - Located in the heart of the Georgia Institute of Technology campus, the Ferst Centre for the Arts serves as a showcase for the presentation of concerts, lectures, dance, film, and theatre. Filled with activity year-round, the hall seats nearly 1,000 and is designed to provide a wealth of diverse and enriching opportunities for both Georgia Tech - the name by which the school is best known - and the greater Atlanta community. It’s also been a DiGiCo facility for several years, with an SD9 console serving as its front-of-house desk since 2014. As many performances and events moved outside in 2021, Georgia Tech Arts, which operates the Ferst Centre, established its Skyline Series in the spring, offering outdoor performances ranging from live music to contemporary dance and featuring a mix of Georgia Tech groups, Atlanta arts companies, and internationally-recognized tou
South Africa - Team South Africa participated alongside 190 countries at Expo 2020 Dubai, which opened its doors on 1 October 2021, under the theme Identity: South African Culture. Wilhelm Disbergen, a production designer for the past two decades who specialises in the set, lighting, and AV design for theatre productions, put his new Hippotizer Nevis+ to work for the musical theatre production Charlotte Maxeke, Mother of Black Freedom held on 16 October and presented by The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and The South African State Theatre during the exhibition. The aim of Dubai Exp 2020 is to create a platform where citizens from around the world can share ideas, come up with solutions, build bridges between nations and attract interest and investors. One of the stories South Africa told during this time was that of mama Charlotte Maxeke, a religious leader, p
UK - “Absolutely amazing” is how lighting designer Tom Campbell from creative collective MIRRAD describes working with singer-songwriter and poet Arlo Parks (Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho). Her 2021 debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams, produced during the pandemic lockdowns, won last year’s Hyundai Mercury Music Prize for Best Album and she also collected a Brit Award for Breakthrough Artist. Tom started working with the artist mid-2021. The first gig was at Manchester Central for two sold out - socially distanced and masked - nights during Manchester International Festival, for which Tom created an adaptable design that could then be re-scaled in either direction for a string of shows that followed as Parks’ dreamy, relatable, and inspirational lyrics and soulish music and style shot to prominence. At the heart of creating elegant, structured lightin
USA - Tonmeister and University of Saint Francis music technology director Miles Fulwider was recently tasked with recording a series of performances of more than 500 student violinists at the Suzuki Association of Utah (SAU). The event, dubbed ‘Violin Celebration’, was held at Abravanel Hall, home of the Utah Symphony, and featured guest artist Rob Landes. The concert was edited into 19 videos that were streamed weekly as an immersive audio experience to Landes’ 3.62m YouTube subscribers, as well as those on the SAU page. To ensure the ultimate sound quality, Fulwider chose DPA Microphones. With such a large potential audience and the calibre of the performance to consider, Fulwider deployed a variety of DPA microphones, including the 4006 Omnidirectional, 4099 CORE Instrument, 5100 Surround, 4011 Cardioid, 4041 Omnidirectional Large Diaphragm, 4015 Wide Cardioi
Israel - When tech giant Rapyd, which provides an API-based fintech-as-a-service, hosted a company rooftop party in Tel Aviv, LEAD selected an array of Claypaky fixtures to pull off one of the most innovative show concepts of the year. Tel Aviv-based lighting and stage designers Omer Israeli and Dor Aichner, who are known as LEAD, utilised Claypaky Sharpy Beams, Mythos II and Scenius Unico fixtures for the event, which kicked off on the roof of Azrieli towers and concluded at Expo Tel Aviv. The fixtures were supplied and installed by Sincopa 2002. Headlined by international DJs Tiesto, Martin Garrix, Armin Van Buuren, Nervo, Skazi and Infected Mushrooms, The Moment party celebrated Rapyd’s employees and the progress the start-up has made this year, including doubling its valuation to $2.5bn. Production company OTD Global was tasked by Rapyd to create an extraor
